Public Invited to Attend Ben Franklin Award for Valor Awards Ceremony

The Kauai Fire Department and Motorola Solutions, Inc. invites the public to honor the 2010 and 2014 Benjamin Franklin Award for Valor recipients at a ceremony to be held on Thursday at 1 p.m. at the Kauai Community College Performing Arts Theater.

“The Award for Valor is the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) most prestigious award and is presented annually to firefighters who demonstrate excellence in their training, professional service and dedication to their life-saving duties,” stated Fire Chief Robert Westerman. “The Kauai Fire Department is one of only two fire departments in the nation that have been selected to receive this esteemed honor more than once, and we are excited for the opportunity to celebrate this accolade with family and friends.”
The awards were previously presented to the department at ceremonies held out-of-state. Thursday’s ceremony allows representatives from Motorola Solutions to present the awards alongside Fire Chief Westerman, Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr., and the community.
Captain Gordon Tamura, Firefighter III Bryan Doo, Firefighter II Aaron Hawthorne, Firefighter II Adam Hussey, and Air 1 rescue pilot Clifton Cates were nominated for the 2014 honor by one of the hikers they rescued during a two-day rescue operation in the Kalalau Valley on April 6, 2014. That operation resulted in the successful rescue of 121 hikers who became stranded in the valley after raging waters made the Hanakāpī‘ai Stream unsafe to cross.
In 2010, Capts. Charles Metivier and Kalani Abreu along with rescue specialists Roy Constantino and Francisco Garcia, and Air 1 pilot Ken D’attilio, received the award for battling unfavorable weather and unforgiving terrain to save the lives of two men who had been involved in an ultra-light crash in Hanapēpē Valley on August 1, 2009.
“It’s wonderful that Motorola Solutions is coming to Kauai to honor these heroes in their hometown,” stated Mayor Carvalho. “I strongly encourage our community members to attend this special event to show our gratitude to our firefighters for their courage and service.”
For more information on this event, call the Kauai Fire Department at 241-4980.

Photos; from left – Capt. Kalani Abreu, FF III Francisco Garcia, FF II Roy Constantino 2010 Award Winners, Capt. Gordon Tamura, FF III Bryan Doo, FF II Aaron Hawthorne, FF II Adam Hussey and Air-1 Pilot Clifton Cates 2014 Award Winners and Fire Chief Robert Westerman (photo by Ann Wooton)

Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr. (photo by Ann Wooton)

Capt. Kalani Abreu, FF III Francisco Garcia, FF II Roy Constantino 2010 Award Winners, Capt. Gordon Tamura, FF III Bryan Doo, FF II Aaron Hawthorne, FF II Adam Hussey and Air-1 Pilot Clifton Cates 2014 Award Winners.(photo by Debby Gatioan)